A local Comic Cave fan has found a way to preserve a keepsake from the now-closed comic book store.
The well-known window that featured the superheroes of the comic book world didn’t become a part of the renovation of the former store in the 3000 block of 17th Street, thanks to Columbus native Chris Bradley.
In February 2019, Bradley, 47, a longtime patron of the Comic Cave, 3221 E. 17th St., decided to track down the new owner of the property after he noticed a “for sale” sign on the property had been taken down and some minor work was being done on the building.
“That’s when I knew I needed to find out who owned (the property) to see if I could get the window,” said Bradley, who had been going to Comic Cave since he was in high school.
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The window, which originally was 6 feet tall, 6 feet wide and weighed an estimated 200-plus pounds, features a painting of superheroes Superman and Shazam in front of an American flag.
It used to be next to the main entrance of the store, but it is now in Bradley’s home, where he plans to hang it on the wall of his game room.
Representatives from the new owner, Homes by Keeno LLC, told Bradley that he could have the window at no charge, but he had to wait until construction started, Bradley said.
“I just wanted a keepsake. It would be cool if I get that,” Bradley said he thought at the time. “…It was just from a crazy idea like, ‘I want to save the window,’ to here we are. It’s just part of the Comic Cave, and it was just always there to greet you when you went in the main door.”
When construction work started this past November on the building, Bradley said he and his brother went over to pick up the window, but struggled to load it in a pickup truck and the glass ended up sticking out past the truck’s tailgate.
“We got (my brother’s) truck backed up to the building and we tried to load it in his truck, but (the window) was too heavy and his truck was too high, Bradley said. “So we took his truck out, pulled my truck in and mine was just about the right level.”
The next week, Bradley said he took the window to Scheidler Glass in Greensburg, “just praying” that the fragile glass painting would not break.
Officials at Scheidler Glass trimmed the window down until it was 64 inches wide and 41 inches tall and then glued it inside of a frame, Bradley said. Overall, it took around two weeks to frame the window painting and a total of around nine months from when Bradley tracked down the new owner until the painting was in his living room, but Bradley said it was worth it.
“It’s awesome. It’s a nice little piece of history,” Bradley said. “…(Comic Cave) was family. Cindy and Dave (Leigh), the owners, they treated me like family when I was in there. It was just a place to hang out and geek out a little bit.”
The painting, as well as other windows on the building featuring paintings of superheroes and comic book characters, were done by local resident Mark Dooley, 63, who was thrilled to learn that Bradley had saved one of them.
“Most of the Comic Cave art I did got so brittle that when they tried to remove them, they broke apart,” Dooley said.
Dooley said he used an enamel paint that was specially made for window painting and did the basic colors and an outline in marker before painting the main colors. The finishing touches were done with a fine brush.
In total, it took around two to three weeks to complete the painting that Bradley saved, Dooley said.
“It was a pleasure doing those,” Dooley said. “I got paid in store credit, so I was happy about that.”
The store was sold for $150,000 to Homes by Keeno LLC on Dec. 21, 2018, according to public records.
Business filings with the Indiana Secretary of State show that the business was incorporated in 1986 at MVL Inc. and later changed its name to Comic Cave Inc. in 1990.
Although it’s unknown what the future holds for the property with the new owners, the store’s memory is living on with its many fans.
“I’ll always miss the Cave, and that’s why I wanted this — to have a memory,” Bradley said.
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The Comic Cave, formerly located at 3221 E. 17th St., sold Marvel, DC, Image, Topps and independent comics, Magic Cards, Star Trek and Star Wars figures and collectibles, among other items, according to the former store’s website.
Business filings with the Indiana Secretary of State show that the business was incorporated in 1986 at MVL Inc. and later changed its name to Comic Cave Inc. in 1990.
The property was sold to Homes By Keeno LLC on Dec. 21, 2018 for $150,000, according to public records.
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